September / October 2009 Welcome to the first ‘Spotlight on Leith’ newsletter designed to keep Leith businesses informed of local developments and initiatives.
There’s a lot happening in Leith at the moment and we want you to hear all about it!
Leith Development update
Investors and developers see Leith Walk as one of the capital’s most important growth areas for the future with four substantial hotel developments either awaiting planning approval or already underway. The site of the old Shrubhill House, the adjacent site at Shrub Place and the gap site next to the McDonald Road
Library will be prime locations for this prestige accommodation. Glimpsing a bright future for this major thoroughfare which links the City Centre to the Waterfront, new businesses are moving into the area to complement the existing diverse retail and service offerings of one of the capital’s most cosmopolitan neighbourhoods.
Greener Leith
Music icon samples Leith Walk
Ahead of his sell-out performance at the Playhouse on 8 August as part of The Edge Festival, former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne took a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip along Leith Walk, armed with a camera to capture the shop-fronts down the Walk.
business centre
Plans are afoot to provide Leith Businesses with access to training, financial and marketing advice, help with innovation, sustainability and identifying new markets. Work is underway to find the best way to deliver these services in the community, including a search for a dedicated hub for these services.
Greener Leith has launched a campaign to encourage people to shop locally. Local traders are offering shoppers a unique ‘We Love Leith’ shopping bag, which gives the owner discounts of up to 30% in a bid to encourage people to shop locally rather than driving to out of town shopping centres. The re-usable bag has been designed by Greener Leith to act like a loyalty card for independent traders. Participating retailers include The Bed Shop, Arkay Imaging, The Carpet Shop, Royal Artizana, Gamesmaster Games Exchange, Harburn Hobbies, Panache Flowers, Tattie Shaws, All Season Flowers, Cow Corner, Eastside Bikes and Changeworks. To see participating retailers and for more information, visit www.weloveleith.com/directory
world tour of leith
Work will be undertaken to expand the ‘I Love Leith’ campaign to increase awareness of local businesses and encourage increased customer flows with dedicated signage, a programme of events and street banners highlighting the uniqueness and diversity of Leith Walk and North Edinburgh. As part of this initiative, a ‘World Tour of Leith’ campaign will involve local media, businesses, restaurants and visitors to showcase the multicultural and cosmopolitan nature of the Walk and its surrounding area.
Spotlight on Deli Polonia
Deli Polonia, located at 235-237 Leith Walk, is a thriving business which makes a positive contribution to the local economy. Started in 2005 by Lucyna and Kelvin Ellis, it was the first Polish Delicatessen to re-emerge in Scotland and after a 40 year gap. Currently employing seven full-time members of staff, they have successfully expanded their product range and customer base and now sell the taste of traditional Polish foods to local residents as well as customers from as far afield as the Scottish Borders, Fife, Broxburn, Livingston and even Glasgow. Explaining why they chose Leith Walk, Lucyna said: “In 2005, before we opened, we undertook some market research and found out that there was a plan to re-brand Leith Walk and that was one of the factors which influenced our decision to open our business here. Leith Walk has a great potential for growth and there is help available for businesses.
Co-operation received from Graham Russell, the Leith Walk & West End Business Co-ordinator, in expanding our business has been very valuable and much appreciated”. Since opening the Deli has expanded into an adjacent shop and won the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce Young Business of the Year Award in 2006. Deli Polonia now has the opportunity to expand once again, this time into the adjacent empty shop at 239—241 Leith Walk, and has applied to the City Council for the necessary “Change Of Use” Planning Permission. This will allow them to enlarge their product range and strengthen their core business by offering new services as well as significantly improving their storage provision with a walk-in fridge and freezer. If the Planning Permission is successful Deli Polonia’s expanded business will create additional job opportunities.
Deli Polonia, 235—237 Leith Walk, EH6 8NY. 0131 555 1281. Open 7 days a week.
Free marketing initiatives Retailers and all consumer-facing businesses in Leith can be profiled, free of charge, on www.edinburghshopper.com – the first website of its kind in Edinburgh to act as a ‘one stop shop’ to feature businesses in Leith, West End and City Centre for visitors and locals alike. The website includes an individual page with a full listing for each business, along with a gallery option and a map. We promote special offers, events and promotions so these can be included too. Each month, we rotate the featured businesses on the homepage and sent out a newsletter to the database If you want your business to be included, email sacha@burtgreener.co.uk or call 0131 220 8249 and ask for a member of the Open For Business team. Don’t miss out on the chance to profile your business for free.
Footfall figures
Footfall figures for Leith Walk are on the rise and new initiatives by CEC, Edinburgh Trams and their business partners are committed to raising the profile of the area, both during and beyond the tramworks. The figures, which are gathered by the newly installed camera at Vittoria Italian Restaurant, are shown below:
We want to hear from you!
FREE workshops for businesses on energy efficiency offered by the Business Environmental Partnership & Business Gateway Thu 24 September – Energy Efficiency Thu 26 November – Resource Efficiency To book your place and for more information, contact Amy Burnett on 0131 561 6262, or email amy@thebep.org.uk
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13 July: 20 July: 27 July: 3 August: 10 August: 17 August: 24 August:
50,532 65,496 71,843 75,554 82,879 77,491 79,708
This shows a 22% monthly increase for August.
If you have a story about your business that you’d like to be included in a future newsletter please let us know! You can either email clara@burtgreener.co.uk or call Clara Suess on 0131 220 8249.